Various reclining chairs can include a lift mechanism to aid in moving a user into a standing position when getting out of the chair. However, in certain chairs, a large amount of weight applied to the chair back can prevent the chair from rotating up to a closed position when the lift mechanism is activated. In this situation, the force of the lift mechanism lifts the chair while it is still partially reclined, which can cause the lift mechanism to malfunction and cause the chair to drop back into an upright, closed position. What is needed is a lift mechanism that can ensure that the chair is in an upright, closed position prior to lifting the chair.